Gold retains lustre

The gold price has surged over the course of this year to beyond $1320 an ounce, with investor interest growing as concerns about currencies mount.

Gold futures, warrants, gold exchange traded funds, gold-mining shares – there are many ways invest in gold. But none offer the sheer sense of possession that having a bar in your hands does. Otkryitie analyst, Vladimir Savov says this can allow investors to strip out thinking about company management and hedge books, and simply focus on price.

“As stock analysts we tend to focus a lot on companies that produce gold, but for a retail investor when it comes to the share there are a lot more factor to keep in mind, when you think only about gold, you think only about the gold price.”

In the wake of the global financial crisis, and with concerns about currencies mounting amidst talk of quantitative easing, investors worldwide have been increasingly look for gold exposure.

But if they want exposure in Russia, they need to make sure it stays in the bank as an investment – it attracts 18% VAT once it gets taken out of the vault and becomes a present. Olga Gryazeva, Head of office, at Sberbank, says gold coins make popular presents.

“Russians mostly buy these gold coins as presents, probably because they look nice, however some of them are investment coins and they are not exposed to VAT.”

Investment analysts say up to 10% of any portfolio should be in gold, and Vladimir Savov believes that despite a recent retracement, the outlook is definitely.

“We do think that we will see higher price in the coming months. Because there is still uncertainty, people look for safe haven, the dollar could be kept at lower levels, and that is good for commodities and gold in particular.”

Long term gold bull George Soros recently described the precious metal as the “ultimate bubble,” as the metal is only really used in jewelry and J.M Keynes described it as a ‘barbarous relic’ – but as the oldest store of wealth it still retains a surety that is matched nowhere else – just don’t take it out of the bank if you are buying physical in Russia.